Our laboratory studies the control of ciliary motility, which is a critical host defense function of the airways. We are currently exploring the regulation of ciliary beating in primary cultures of ciliated tracheal epithelium. With this system we are examining the role that nitric oxide plays in stimulating protein kinases that cause cilia to beat faster. We also continue to examine ethanol as a model agonist for this system and are probing the mechanism(s) by which ethanol desensitizes the ciliary apparatus to subsequent stimulation by physiologic agonists, such as ß -agonists. In addition to the control and regulatory elements of the system, we are also studying the kinase phosphorylation targets in the cilia axoneme to determine the mechanism(s) by which phosphorylation activates dyneins and other motor elements of the axoneme.